Recent changes in narcissism of Chinese youth, 2008–2017: Narcissism had a downward temporal trend; neither gender nor region moderated the trend; this finding challenged individualism was a global determinant of narcissism

Recent changes in narcissism of Chinese youth: A cross-temporal meta-analysis, 2008–2017. Shuang Gao et al. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 148, 1 October 2019, Pages 62-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.05.035

Highlights
•    Narcissism had a downward temporal trend among Chinese youth.
•    Neither gender nor region moderated the time trend.
•    The finding challenged individualism was a global determinant of narcissism.

Abstract: The present study examined potential changes in narcissistic traits of Chinese youth from 2008 to 2017. A cross-temporal meta-analysis involving 29 independent samples (N = 14,795) found a downward temporal trend: Mean scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and Narcissistic Personality Inventory for Chinese are significantly negatively associated with year of data collection, weighted by sample size (β = −0.49). Moderator analyses found that this trend was independent of the measurement instrument used, gender distribution, or region of data collection. These findings contradict claims that Chinese youth have become more narcissistic of late. The findings also challenge the common assumption that societal increases in individualism are a global determinant of narcissism.